


Destitute

by momy04



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Blood and Gore, Drugs, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Horror, Implied/Referenced Torture, Multi, Polyamory, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Slow Burn, Stalking, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-26 13:14:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30106503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momy04/pseuds/momy04
Summary: None of this was supposed to happen. You were supposed to save up your money, finish your degree, and live a nice, comfortable life until you inevitably died from old age, maybe with a lover at your side. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so.You—a close to broke college student working at a small, local pizza chain—had somehow caught the attention of a certain trio of psychotic murderers. Do you know why? Absolutely not; they won't tell you jack shit. All you knew is that they were after you and you needed to do everything in your power to escape their clutches.Too bad that's not happening anytime soon, sweetheart.(Cross-posted on Quotev!)
Relationships: Brian Thomas | Hoody/Reader, Brian Thomas | Hoody/You, Timothy "Tim" Wright | Masky/Reader, Timothy "Tim" Wright | Masky/You, Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers | Ticci Toby/You, Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers|Ticci Toby/Reader
Comments: 22
Kudos: 28





	1. chapter 1: what even is a lodge

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the link to the playlist that gets updated with each chapter!
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6n3eetp1UoyhPTtTW4SYTx?si=mGnFzTGbQpCeC13azcWDfg&utm_source=copy-link
> 
> Inspired by "Spill Your Guts" by Rea and Abby on Quotev!
> 
> https://www.quotev.com/story/12710266/Spill-Your-Guts-Proxies-X-Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: hhhngngg i gotta make some things clear
> 
> reader/y/n is 19 years old and bday is march 13, toby is also 19, tim is 26, brian is 27 bc i think it makes sense. reader is a cisgender woman that is romantically and sexually attracted to men. reader is an introvert with generalized anxiety and is kinda paranoid. covid doesnt exist in this story.
> 
> im not looking for constructive criticism. im writing bc i want to and i have fun doing it, im not capitalizing off of what i write so theres no need. typos are different tho, u can tell me that lol
> 
> these are my interpretations of these characters and if u dont agree thats fine, but pls dont say "thats not how _ would act hes baby" i rly dont care if u agree bc im writing it anyway. however if u wanna have a nice discussion ab the reasoning behind their actions id love to! keyword: discussion. nobody is wrong here, we jus have different opinions and thats okay. be respectful.
> 
> if u are under the age of 16 (16-17 ur on thin ice) i rly would rather u jus not read this story at all but im not ur mom, ik sum of yall will end up here. so jus putting this out there for everyone reading: do not romanticise abusive relationships. realize that these things are not normal and u should not seek this type of relationship out, u will get hurt. stay safe and keep an open mind. i'm here to talk if u need it, ur never alone.
> 
> there will be nsfw later on, ill be putting warnings. if ur a minor do not comment on these parts. no im not writing detailed rape or torture porn, thats not what the warnings are there for
> 
> PLEASE read all the warnings. baby. im begging u. read them. please.
> 
> also please comment :) it makes me happy n i love seeing nice comments <3 contrary to popular belief im not an asshole so dont be scared to comment shawty bae ;)) 
> 
> (Y/N) (L/N) = Your Name, Last Name  
> (f/c) = favorite/preferred color  
> (h/l) (h/c) = hair length, hair color  
> (e/c) = eye color  
> (s/t) = skin tone

**Song: No Wonder I - LAKE**

With life there will always be surprises. These surprises may be good, or they may be the worst thing that's ever happened to you. You never see them coming and it always feels like the wrong time. Some surprises are so big that they shift your entire reality as you know it. All you can do in these circumstances is play with the cards you've been dealt and hope you don't miraculously drop dead from a brain aneurysm while crying in your bed at 3:46 AM.

Because of this unpredictable nature of life, a fixed routine is usually welcomed with open arms. In the case of (F/N) (L/N), it is welcomed with arms stretched as wide as humanly possible and then some. Hell, you'll welcome it with open legs too if it meant you could get some action for once.

That's why when waking up to the familiar hum of your portable heater, the honks of the average morning road ragers, and the beeps of your 10:00 AM alarm blaring, you felt at peace.

Your life, at least for as long as you'd lived under your parents, was full of unpredictability and chaos. You used to pray for a 'normal' life, a 'normal' family, and just as you thought you'd never see the day of that happening, here you were. An apartment, which you bought without the help of your parents, right around the outskirts of a nice, small town in northern Georgia. More importantly, far away from your parents. You had hobbies you could try without worrying about your parents' prickling opinions, you could read a book in the living room without having to go back to the safety of your room when your parents got home, and you didn't have a curfew! You even had your own car, albeit your mom's old Nissan that could use a new paint job, it was still yours. You had almost everything you dreamed of away from your parents. A home, a car, a job…

A job.

You cracked your tired eyes open, shifting under your warm comforter and slowly turning your head towards your loud, cheap old alarm clock. You sighed, your breath hot and your mouth feeling dry as ever. You had work today, you remembered.

When you first moved, you enrolled in your town's local community college, not wanting your bank account to be emptied as soon as you moved out of your parents house. It was the easier option, you'd just transfer to a well-ranked university after your first two years. As of last week your second fall semester ended, which meant you had a lot of time on your hands. You decided to spend that time working. You knew that asking to switch to full-time was a good way to keep yourself busy and your bills paid, but you'd be lying if you said you were happy about it. Too bad you were a broke college student with almost nothing better to do.

With that thought in mind, you groaned as you hauled yourself up from your oh-so-comfortable bedding, pushing it off your body. You swung your legs over the edge of your soft mattress, leaning over the side to turn off your screeching alarm that was positioned on your small wooden bedside table. It was time to get ready for work.

You worked as a pizza delivery girl at a small regional restaurant chain named Riverside Pizza. It was quite fun at times, surprisingly. You didn't really have a dress code other than the regular no shorts, skirts, or open-toed shoes rule. Your coworkers were hilarious, joking around with each other and sometimes messing around with the dough. The managers were also probably the most relaxed people you have ever met, never really scolding your goofy coworkers for horse-play and even joining in sometimes. Though, you think it's probably only because they smoke weed in the freezer room but, hey, you're not judging. They pay your bills, they can do what they want. It also makes it easier to scroll on your phone when there isn't anything to do.

Speaking of, you reached for the phone that was charging next to your alarm clock. Turning it on, you found that the only notification you had was a text from your best friend back in your hometown. You smiled, tapping on the notification.

_Hey bitch i miss u i hope ur having!!!!! U should come visit for christmas im gonna have a small party with everyone at my place!!! Theyd love to see u! :)))_

_*Having fun!! oops_

God, you missed her. She was pretty much the only person you missed back in (hometown), save for a few close friends that were probably going to the party she was hosting. You huffed, disappointed. You didn't have time to visit, you had to keep working. Sending her a quick text back, you rose from your bed. You really had to get going now.

_hey i miss you too! sorry girl, i have to work my ass off all winter break to pay these bills. i'll definitely visit during spring break though. tell them i said hi btw and that daniel's haircut looks ugly as fuck. <3_

You shoved your phone in the pocket of your sweatpants and sighed. Maybe next time. Intertwining your hands and stretching them above your head slowly, you listened to the slight 'pop!' of your back cracking after a long night's rest. You hoped today would be a good day but it was Saturday after all. No Saturday is a good day for a pizza chain.

_Crack!_

You jumped, turning around, eyes wide and scanning your room for the source of the sudden noise. You saw nothing, just a plain off-white wall, a shelf filled with your trinkets and books, and your window. You blinked.

Scratching your head, you let out a breath. You could've sworn you heard something similar to the cracking of knuckles from behind you, maybe from your window. It sounded too far away from you to be your back cracking but you were probably still shaking off the sleep from your brain. You decided to shrug it off, that's all it was. You were just being paranoid. Still, you didn't like how much sun your bedroom window was letting in, so you shuffled over to close the blinds.

Your anxious thoughts reminded you of the car.

For the past week or so, no matter what time it was, a sleek, expensive-looking black car would follow you home from work. You didn't think much of it really, or at least you tried to. Maybe they were just taking the same route as you and it happened to be at the same times you were driving home from work for the past week? These things happen more often than one would think. However, even if just a coincidence, it's very off-putting. The only thing that brings you peace of mind is that once you pull into your apartment building's entrance and parking lot, the car takes a right. They weren't following you home, you reasoned, just to your building. They didn't know where you lived. Still, just to be safe, you'd take a different route home today to see if they would follow you and if you should be worried for your safety. Hopefully they wouldn't and you were overreacting.

You shut the blinds.

* * *

Today was not a good day.

Turns out, one of the newer trainees you didn't know the name of skipped out on their afternoon shift. Your shift manager had to call someone in last minute which meant they would be late during rush hour. Which also meant more work for only the five of you.

Because Riverside Pizza wasn't a well-known food chain, you didn't get as many orders compared to Pizza Hut or Domino's, but it was still a lot for five people to handle. Thankfully, Jonah was there.

Jonah was your comfort colleague. You got on well enough to joke around with each other on the job but weren't close enough to make plans outside of work. You didn't mind, it was better that way anyway. He was also the biggest stoner you've ever met. If he smoked this much on the job, you didn't want to find out what other stuff he was doing in his free time. One day, he'd even dropped a tab of acid while he was on call for delivery. He argued with you, said he wanted to "open his car's third eye." Nobody knew what he meant but you covered for him that day in fear of him getting himself arrested.

Speaking of Jonah, his unexpectedly high voice broke you out of your thoughts.

"(L/N), could you take the call? I gotta piss real bad." Jonah called out over his shoulder, already making a beeline towards the shitty bathroom in the back.

You snorted, ripping your eyes away from your phone and setting it down on the counter you were sitting on. He was probably gonna hotbox the bathroom, you don't know why he tries hiding it at this point. You looked around and found that nobody else was in the building, either gone home for the day or out for delivery. _At least the dinner rush is over_ , you thought as you heard the bathroom door close. It must be around nine or so.

"Sure thing," you yelled so Jonah could hear, hopping off the high counter and heading to the back of the restaurant where the phone was ringing. You hoped it wasn't another middle school basketball team ordering fifty pizzas last minute.

Coming to a stop at the back shelf and staring at the dirty landline, you cringed. No matter how many times it was cleaned, the old phone would always have flour and dough stuck in the crevices. _Oh well_ , you exhaled softly through your nose. You were gonna wash your hair tonight anyways. You quickly grabbed a ticket to write their order on and picked up the phone, switching instantly to your cheery customer service persona.

"Riverside Pizza, how may I help you?" You chirped, grabbing a pen and positioning it above the order ticket.

"Uh, hi, is it still okay to order for delivery?" A rough, slightly harsh voice greeted you with a tinge of nervousness. _They kinda sound cute._

You smiled at the silly thought, "It sure is, may I get your address?"

As you were taking the customer's order, you heard noises from their side of the call. It sounded muffled so you couldn't make out much, but it sounded like an argument. They must've been on speaker. You prayed that it wasn't a frat party. Those were the absolute worst.

"Alrighty, will that be all for you?" You asked, writing down the last of their order. It was a lot, they probably had people over if it wasn't already obvious from the loud arguing. That either meant a lot of tips or barely any.

"Yeah, thanks," they finished, clearing their throat. "By the way, we'll be paying in cash."

You hummed, writing on the ticket. "Got it. Your pizza will be delivered in about half an hour. Can I get a name?"

"Thanks," they repeated, "and yeah, it's Tim." There was a loud crash on their end followed by more yelling.

"No problem, Tim! Buh-bye." You hung up quickly, not wanting to hear the aftermath of the crash. _Please don't be drunk frat boys._

Suddenly, you heard Jonah walked out of the bathroom. You turned to him, sighing when you saw him, eyes drooping and a small smile on his face. Rolling your eyes at his sluggish state, you spoke aloud.

"Guess I'll be delivering this one."

* * *

**Song: Hentai - Cigarettes After Sex**

With a huff, you close your car passenger door. You'd set the two large pizzas on the passenger seat of your old car, ready to be delivered to the person with a delightfully rough voice and their argumentative friends. Not many people would order for delivery this late at night, it was surely past any regular person's dinnertime. However, after those all-nighters you pulled during finals week you certainly weren't one to judge, cravings seem to hit the hardest at the worst times.

Walking over to enter the driver's seat, you idly look around. No cars other than your own and Jonah's. You'd been checking a lot now, always subconsciously keeping an eye out for the black car that follows you home. You're never able to see it pull up to the restaurant but they always seem to find their way behind you. You hoped you could shake them off today after taking a different route home. If not, what would you even do? Alert the police? You didn't even know their license plate.

You hop into your car, turn on the ignition, and start driving without a second thought. You didn't want to keep worrying about the black car, all you wanted to do was focus on getting this last delivery finished and then you could go home for the night. Then, you could prove to yourself that it was all in your imagination, nobody was really following you. Pulling out of the restaurant's parking lot, you smiled to yourself, determined. _Just one more delivery._

As you followed the voice navigation's directions to the customer's address, you found that the more you drove down a beaten road you haven't heard of, it's right at the edge of your delivery range in an area you've never been to before. You didn't even know that there was anything beyond the trees in this particular forested area. _I swear to God if these guys are axe murderers and I get kidnapped or something,_ you thought, your heart rate picking up. Then again, you've only been delivering for Riverside for around a year and a half, it's not too strange to enter an area you haven't been to before. Still, it made you feel a bit uneasy how shaded the area was from the moonlight and how far away the main road had gone.

The path was straight and at some point the road ended, instead replaced with gravel atop dirt and grass. It seemed like a path you would see on a mountaintop, away from the main road. The trees were dark green and never ending, closely surrounding the shady path and sometimes even hitting your car with its low branches. The fact that the sun had set hours ago was not helping your nerves, the headlights of your used car glaring only a few meters ahead of you. All you could see were the trees and gravel. How did Google Maps even find this place if it was so off-road?

"You've arrived at your destination." The sudden robotic voice forced you out of your thoughts, making you jump slightly. You hadn't been paying too much attention to the road, just looking straight ahead into the darkness, lost in thought as the sounds of the tires rolling over the gravel lulled you. You looked around, searching through the dark oak trees, almost missing the small building to your car's left. The only reason you were able to see it was because of the small lights lining the entrance of what seems to be a motel of some sorts. The outside looked like your traditional log cabin, albeit larger than average. The walls, the rooftop, the porch, and even the three rocking chairs which sat off to the side of the front door were all the same shade of dark brown, just like the trees. You wondered if the original owner had built this place themself. Just above the porch was a wooden sign attached to the roof from rusted chains. It wrote 'Creekwood Lodge,' deeply carved out letters barely legible on the hanging wood plank. A lodge? _How the hell is anyone supposed to see that?_

You let out a few small curses, not bothering to turn on your turn signal out of annoyance and also the fact that there were no cars around. Turning left into the building, you looked for someplace to park. To call the area you were in right now a "parking lot" would be an overstatement. The gravel ended as soon as you drove off the main road and instead was replaced by hardened dirt free of grass. Strangely, there were only four parking spaces and three out of the four were open, the only car present being an old, rusted Dodge. Didn't seem like this place had a lot of business, understandably so. You sighed, slowly pulling into a parking space on your left. As you parked, you made a mental note to mention in passing how it was _so difficult_ to find this place as you gave the customer their pizza. You worked hard for this tip.

With the thought of the customer in mind, you'd realized that they were staying at a lodge and you had no idea what their room number was. _Did they say on the call?_

You moved your hands from the steering wheel and leaned over to grab the ticket that was sitting on top of the three pizza boxes on your passenger seat. You scanned the ticket in your hands, triple-checking for some sort of room number. Unfortunately, you found none. You groaned, throwing your head back. You'd either have to call them back or knock on every single door inside the building. Turning, you took a quick once-over of the lodge. It didn't look too big a place, you could probably find their room in less than five minutes. However, you didn't want someone to answer the door and end up interrupting something important. Being yelled at while on the job was not fun. You laid the ticket back down so you could see the customer's callback number and pulled out your phone from the cup holder, ending the navigation. You hoped they'd answer and at least be understanding of your situation. Dialing up the number, you held your phone out and turned it on speaker.

They answered after two rings. "Hello?" A low voice greeted you. You could've sworn they sounded different from earlier but maybe it was just because of how used the old landline was back at Riverside. Or perhaps one of their friends picked up the phone? Oh well, it wasn't your business. You're just here to deliver pizza.

"Hi, this is the Riverside Pizza delivery service, is this Tim?" You rehearsed the familiar lines.

"Oh, are you here? I'll be out in just a second." They spoke, not answering your question. They hung up immediately afterwards. You blinked, not expecting the rushed words. Shrugging it off, you paid it no mind. They must be really hungry, you guessed from how excited they sounded.

You shut off your phone hurriedly, set it back down in your cup holder, and unlocked your car. If they were in a rush you didn't want to upset them even more than they already were by being slow, vaguely remembering the yelling in the background of the initial call at Riverside. Though you didn't hear any arguments during the brief call just now, you'd rather be safe than sorry. You opened your car door in a huff, slowly stretching your legs out and standing up on the dry ground. Stepping out, you found that it was an especially chilly winter night. Christmas was in a few weeks, after all. You were glad that you were wearing a thick (f/c) jacket to keep you warm.

You closed your car door and walked to your passenger door to retrieve the three pizzas. Fortunately, it was still warm after about 30 minutes of trying to find the lodge. _They'd better tip me big time_ , you thought to yourself as you closed the door.

Pizzas in hand, you walked across the parking lot toward the building, stray leaves crunching beneath your dirty work shoes. You took the opportunity to really analyze your surroundings, just in case these people happened to be some psycho murderers. Of course, it was just precaution, which was what you told yourself. Secretly you wished something interesting would happen, your life had been filled with utter boredom since you settled into your apartment. Though, you pushed the thought away. You didn't want to meet murderers, at least not tonight.

The wooden steps leading up the porch to the entrance of the lodge were rickety and molded, squeaking loudly with every step you took. You were nervous, the closer you got to the lodge the more shady it looked, which was a feat in itself as it was a random wooden lodge in the middle of a dark forest. Keeping your head down, you saw small holes and cracks littering the floorboards of the porch and wondered just how long this place was here for. _This shit is fucking scary_ , you gulped. You stopped once you found yourself standing in front of an old door that looked like if the wind blew hard enough it would fall over. _Dude, please hurry. I'm about to piss my fucking pants_.

Your prayers were answered when you heard the sound of a lock clicking and saw the rusty doorknob rotating. Why was it locked? The door creaked open, revealing a man who looked just around your age.

"H-Hey," he greeted. You recognized his voice from the second call, the same velvety tone used to address you. He flicked his head to the side in a strange manner, messy brown locks bouncing with the movement. He was holding a wad of cash in a gloved hand, signifying that he was here to pay for the pizza.

"Oh, hello!" You nodded, giving him a weak smile. His dark eyes bore into your (e/c) ones, almost threateningly. You realized that while he had deep brown eyes, his pupils were clouded, almost white, as if he had cataracts. The stare felt creepy, he seemed to be picking apart every single flaw about your character from just one glance. The man also had a large white, rectangular bandage stuck to his cheek, covering the skin from the corner to his mouth to just underneath his cheekbone. You didn't judge too harshly but it was unnerving. You cleared your throat, breaking eye contact in favor of looking at the pizza boxes you were holding. "Are you Tim?"

"Nah," he drawled, putting a gloved hand on the back of his pale neck, fingers flexing oddly. His skin looked sickly pale, you thought, his undertone closer to a paper white. "I'm one of his friends. He had to go somewhere but he gave me the money to pay for the pizza." He raised the wad of cash in emphasis. "The name's Toby, by the way." He gave you a toothy grin, the white bandage crinkling with it.

You smiled back, not wanting to be rude. He was also kind of cute the more you looked at him, giving you more of a geeky boy-next-door vibe. "Hi Toby, I'm (Y/N), nice to meet you." You didn't have to give him your name but you felt it was appropriate, him giving you his. Also, again, he was attractive. "Here's your order, your total is $46.76." You held it out to him.

Toby nodded, head jerking to the side once again. _Is that a tic?_ You thought curiously, remembering some informative videos you've watched on TikTok about a certain disorder that you couldn't remember the name of, though you did know it caused a person to twitch and 'tic' uncontrollably as well as say random things that pop in their head.

He took the three boxes from your arms and held them in his one free hand. You glanced in passing at his arm but had to do a double-take. His biceps flexed underneath his fitted long-sleeve, surprising you as he didn't look like the type to work out. In fact, he looked pretty thin. _Holy shit, that's hot_ , you breathed, reluctantly averting your scrutinizing gaze down to his hand that was holding out the cash. _I need to get fucking laid._

"Here's 60 bucks, you can keep the rest." Toby smirked, catching your stare at his arm. "I know it must've been _tough_ finding this place, hm?"

_Oh my God, fuck you._ You chuckled nervously, flushing deep red. You swiftly took the money from his gloved hand and observed it as if it was the first time you've seen a 20 dollar bill. "Yeah… Thanks! Um, I mean, thank you for the change—Or, the tip, I mean. Thanks for the tip." You sputtered out, regretting every single decision you've ever made to lead you up to this point. _Kill me now._ "Um, yeah. See you!"

You spun around quickly, not wanting to face the train wreck that was whatever you were trying to say. The embarrassment was almost too much. Though, you suddenly thought about what your manager would say in this situation and sighed internally. You realized you were being rude. No matter how cute the customer is, manners come first. However, when you turned back to face Toby to give him a proper farewell, his eyes were staring too intently into your own, intimidating you in a way you didn't know was possible. Was he looking straight at you the entire time? You lightly shivered, frozen in place. "Uh…"

_Crack!_

"Oh, shit!" You jumped, eyes widened at the sight of the man's head jerked to the side, further than you'd seen him move before. "Are you okay?" You asked in a panic, wanting to make sure this stranger didn't just break his neck right in front of you.

He chuckled, twitching his head a few more times to the side in a grimace. "Y-Yeah. I h-have Tourette's so this h-hap-happens a lot." Toby stuttered a bit, his speech interrupted by his tics. "It's just-just my neck crack-cracking."

You let out a sigh of relief, bringing a hand up to rake through your (h/l) hair. "Oh, yeah. Sorry," you stated awkwardly. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't, like, snap your neck or something. Sorry if that was insensitive." You offered genuinely. You didn't want to leave a bad impression on this guy, you understood it was out of his control.

"It's a-alright," Toby smiled, his tics calming down a bit. "Sorry to scare you like that. You already seemed a b-bit," he paused, grinning, looking for the right word. "On _edge_." _This motherfucker_. "Are you nervous or something?"

You huffed, your fleeting curious stares at his arms and face must've inflated this guy's ego or something. Sure he was hot but you wouldn't put up with being toyed with just because you realized it. You had dignity. "Yeah, actually. This place is really fucking creepy," you started, trying your hardest to level your voice and not be an anxious mess. Though, your face was still faintly warm. "I don't know how you can stand it."

Toby let out a low, throaty chuckle, making direct eye contact with you once more. You were reeling from how attractive it was, ears practically screaming for more. _What the fuck is wrong with me?_

"Yeah, it gets creepy at night." He empathized, staring deeply into your eyes with a slight grin on his face. Did this guy not understand when to look away? You didn't avert your gaze this time, putting on a confident facade. "You should be careful, you don't wanna get murdered or something." There was a dangerous glint in those dark eyes that were staring right through you. It made you feel small, like prey. You were sure that his stare would make any kid start to cry. Hell, even you felt like crying while also running away. Suddenly, you didn't find Toby as cute anymore. The words he spoke seemed more like a foreshadowing than a dark joke and the more you thought about it, the more alarms went off in your head. You needed to get out here. Fast.

"Um, yeah." You responded with a dry, high-pitched laugh. "Well, I better get going. I gotta clean up and stuff," you pointed behind you with your thumb, taking a slow step back. "It was nice meeting you Toby, have a nice night." You cleared your throat, offering him a nervous smile.

Toby didn't move from his spot, pizzas still in hand and grin still plastered on his face. More importantly, his creepy leer was still directed right at you. "You too, (Y/N)," the way he said your name sent an unpleasant shiver down your spine, your fight or flight responses starting to kick in. "Have a nice night."

"Thanks, I will." You spoke hurriedly, turning around and lightly jogging down the steps to your car. Your heart was pounding in your chest, alarms going off in your head that danger was nearby. You passed by the red rusted car you saw earlier that looked like it could use more than a few touch-ups. You hoped you'd never had to see it, or this lodge, or even Toby, no matter how cute, ever again. You got a bad feeling in your gut just being in this forest. As you approached your car and entered the front seat, you glanced behind you to see if Toby was still waiting at the front door. To your relief, he wasn't standing there anymore and the door was closed. You assumed he'd gone back inside.

You sat down and closed the door, making sure to lock it just in case someone tried to come in. Paranoid, you also checked the back seat just to be safe. Making sure nothing was out of order, you pulled up Google Maps on your phone and started to navigate to Riverside Pizza.

* * *

**Song: Pity Party - Melanie Martinez**

"It was creepy as fuck, Jonah!" You exclaimed, exasperated. "The guy didn't know when to look away!" You were relaying what had happened to you at the lodge to your blazed out coworker, not caring if he was listening or not, you just had to let it out. "He was cute but he was creepier than he was cute!"

"That's crazy," Jonah slurred, leaning on the countertop that you were currently cleaning. "Maybe he thought you were pretty. I know I think you're pretty." He smiled, his red eyes crinkling.

You sighed, scrubbing the flour from the countertop with a wet rag. "Thanks Jonah." You didn't care if Toby thought you were pretty, it was unsettling. At least, that's what you told yourself. You didn't want to admit that a tiny, depraved part of you liked feeling as if you were trapped under his gaze, though in the moment you wanted to get away for obvious reasons. You weren't _that_ horny.

"No problem!" He chirped, standing straight up to stretch out his arms. "I should tell Anushka she's pretty today, too." The boy gasped suddenly, slowly taking out his phone. Anushka was Jonah's girlfriend of three months, the longest he's ever had one for. Sadly, he was never able to keep one for long because of his 'recreational' habits, aka drugs, but he swore Anushka was different. You've met her once when she came to visit him at work, she was a nice girl. You hope for his sake she'd accept him for who he was.

"Yeah you should," you agreed, finishing up the countertop and dropping the rag into a bucket next to the sink which was positioned right next to the counter. That was the last task you had to do before closing. "Alright, I'm heading home now Jonah, have a good night." You called out to him, grabbing your phone and charger on the way to the doors.

"Bye (L/N)!" Jonah responded, eyes glued on his phone and fingers typing away.

You chuckled, pushing open the double doors and shoving your phone and charger in your jacket pocket. The cold air was refreshing after spending hours near four pizza ovens and little to no air conditioning. Unfortunately, it reminded you of the chilling experience you had at Creekwood Lodge. You exhaled, eyes casting downwards to your feet. You hoped the feeling in your gut was just because of all the horror movies you'd seen and not because of the threatening aura of the entire lodge. You'd hate to find out from the news that the Toby you'd seen was actually Michael Myers in disguise and you almost had a near-death experience without knowing. Hopefully, you were overreacting.

You shivered at the thought, pushing it away. You had another thing to worry about now. You looked around you, scanning the area for the expensive black car you'd see every day after work. It wasn't in the parking lot from what you can see but then again it never is, it shows up behind you when you're already on the main road. You walked over to your car parked right in front of your restaurant's building, unlocking it and quickly buckling yourself inside. You wanted to get home as soon as possible but if the car showed up behind you, you would have to take the scenic route to shake it off.

You started your car and pulled out of the parking lot, still no sign of the black car. You weren't even sure what kind of car it was but you knew what it looked like. Clean, new, sleek, and black. You pulled into the main road, praying for it to not show up. Your day was exhausting and you'd rather not have to take the long way home.

You drove for a couple minutes, taking the regular turns to your apartment building and saw no signs of the black car. You smiled to yourself, if it was coming it would've already been here by now. You just hoped it wasn't waiting for you at your apartment building for some reason. However, you had faith that it was just a coincidence that week, no matter how strange it may be. Like you said before, these things happen more often than one would think.

Though, as you drove home, you couldn't help but notice a car behind you has been there since you turned onto the main road. Your anxiety spiked. You'd been so focused on finding the black car that you hadn't noticed the red car behind you.

A red, rusty car. The same car you saw at Creekwood Lodge.

Your eyes widened as you tried to stay calm. You reasoned with yourself at first. It probably wasn't the same exact car, just another old Dodge that needed a paint job or three. But the longer you glanced at it, the more it became clear. That was the same exact car you saw at the lodge, the same car you parked next to, the same car you'd rushed past to get away from Toby. You were utterly terrified.

_Is it Toby?_ You gulped, thoughts racing. You hadn't actually seen him get back into the lodge, just that when you looked back he was gone. _What if he got into his car when I wasn't looking?_

Your apartment building came to view and you subconsciously sped up, wanting to get away from the car. You couldn't look too long in your rearview mirror in fear of getting into an accident so you couldn't see if it was Toby or not but the thought of not knowing scared you even more. The car behind you seemed to notice your slight acceleration, speeding up with you. Your breath got caught in your throat and your hands gripped the steering wheel with sweaty palms. Your throat felt tight, closing up. _Is this what true fear feels like?_

You almost missed the turn into your building, your panic set too deep in your bones to focus properly. You veered left once you found that no car was crossing, forgetting your turn signal in your alarm. It didn't really matter, you didn't care about whoever was in the car enough to offer them kindness. They were straight up your ass the entire time, if they got hurt you didn't care.

You sped into your apartment's parking lot, picking a random space to park. You kept your eyes on the road ahead of you, too scared to face the reality of the situation. Once you pulled in and set your car in park, you exhaled hurriedly and checked your rearview mirror. The car was gone.

You felt like a weight was lifted off your chest. You could breathe again, sucking in big gulps of air as if you'd just run a mile. You let go of the steering wheel, fingers almost locked in place by how hard you were gripping it. You flexed them carefully, feeling a slight ache whenever your fingers twitched. The action reminded you of Toby and his gloved, twitching fingers.

You need to go back to Creekwood Lodge, you realized. Although you didn't want to, you had to know if that was Toby's car. There's a good chance that when you ask he'd lie to you, but you have to give it a shot. The thought of going back filled you with anxiety yet you figured you had no other choice. There was nothing the police could do for you right now, the car had only followed you home once. For you, once was enough.

A passing thought reminded you of the black car. They didn't show up today but instead the rusted car did, were they linked? If they were, did Toby have something to do with it? He'd been especially creepy with you and you didn't know if you could just excuse it as social awkwardness anymore. Another reason to go back to the lodge. You were going to get your answers.

You didn't exactly have a plan for how you were going to go back there and get your answers, you just hoped they'd order another pizza before they decided to do something. You knew that you were jumping the gun a bit but you couldn't help it! Your anxiety, paranoia, and your thirst for adventure were all pushing for you to get answers. Who were you to deny yourself?

That night, you fell into a restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: fuck daniel and his stupid ass haircut


	2. chapter 2: surprise shawty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a/n: btw i don't have an uploading schedule, i kinda jus update when i want to so yeah!! also tysm for the all the comments and kudos!!! big preesh hehe it literally makes me jump around my room :)) also also thank y'all to the ones who followed the playlist <33 ily

_You broke off into a sprint, desperate to get away from… From what? You had no fucking clue, you were running on autopilot. Somehow, you just knew you needed to escape._

_Darkness swallowed you, no light to be seen. It was cold and if you squinted you could faintly see your breath in front of you, despite how dark it was. Had the night always been this pitch black? You had no idea where you were, honestly. There were no trees, roads, grass, or any landmarks. However, you knew you were outside even if the moon was out of sight._

_You looked down, the ground seemingly an endless void. No beginning, no end, just cold and black. You were barefoot, you found. Your feet were slapping against the cold ground hurriedly, your legs aching from sprinting for so long. What were you running from?_

_You turned, fear clouding any coherent thoughts you should've had. Looking behind you, you saw nothing. You heard it, though. It was unmistakable, the pounding of boots not-so-far-away, quickly becoming louder. You felt the ground shake slightly in tune with the stomps and you pushed yourself to run faster, whipping your head back around to try and see where you were going._

_Without warning, you came face-to-face with the absolute last thing you were expecting. A giant eyeball, stopping you in your tracks so suddenly you almost fell right over. Your fear reached its peak, unable to move. Any words, screams, or breaths were stuck in your terror-stricken throat. You just stared at the floating eyeball in utter shock. It was at least two times your height, the sclera an angry red as if it had just gotten poked. The eye had deep brown irises that seemed like it was studying your every movement, calculating._

_The pupil was a foggy, off-white color. A cataract?_

**_Crack!_ **

You gasped for air, coughs racking through your shaking body. You peeled your eyes open, trying to gain a sense of where you were. Your brain was still in panic mode, chest heaving while your eyes darted around the stillness of your apartment bedroom. The sun was out, a soft light peeking through your closed curtains and illuminating your slightly messy room. Time started to slow as you gradually gained control of your senses through your inner panic.

_There's no… eye?_ You took a deep inhale through your nose, out your mouth. You needed to calm the fuck down before you trigger yourself a heart attack. Repeating the action a few more times, you shakily allowed yourself to sit up, scooting backwards until you felt your back rest flat against your headboard. With your heart rate slowly starting to come down, you could think properly once more. You'd reminded yourself that you were in your room, that you were completely safe, there was no danger. Absolutely nothing to worry about.

You sighed, bringing a hand up to your forehead and wiping the sweat off. After that strangely intense dream you were, unsurprisingly, drenched in sweat. And you felt gross.

_I need to shower._ You turned to look at your alarm clock, wondering just what time your body decided to wake you from your nightmare. _9:03 AM_. You smiled weakly, feeling slightly accomplished at waking up before your alarm for once. You had plenty of time to refresh.

Yawning, you pulled your legs from your sheets and reached high to stretch your back out. At this point you'd completely calmed down from your rude awakening, your heart beat steadily and your mind was no longer racing. Reaching a particularly high point in your stretch, you cringed at the audible 'crack!' of your bones. The sound reminded you of Toby and his joint cracking tics. Shivering at the thought of the man, you bring your arms down to gently wrap around your torso in comfort. With dread, you remembered you had work today.

As much as you were straight creeped out by the guy, you knew you had to talk to him soon. The car could've just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, it was probably just a coincidence. _There've been too many coincidences recently,_ you thought bitterly. _First the black car, now this musty, ugly ass car?_ Were they linked? You wouldn't doubt the thought, it just so happened that it had been the only day the black car didn't follow you home since the whole thing began. You wondered how someone could own such a nice looking vehicle while at the same time drive the absolute trash-mobile that was the rusted Dodge. Toby didn't seem too well-off on money if he were staying at such a shitty lodge.

Then again, what if it wasn't Toby? The car could've very well belonged to someone else, you realized. Wasn't Toby staying with someone else, maybe more? You pondered for a second, weighing all the possibilities.

First possibility: it was Toby. He's planning on doing something either the next time you go to the lodge or when you got off work. This was what you were mostly scared of.

Second possibility: it wasn't Toby and instead it was his friend. You figured this was equally as terrifying, if not more. That would mean his friend—or friends—was in on it and trying to help achieve their shared goal, whatever that may be. You gulped, deciding to not think about it at the moment.

Third possibility: it wasn't Toby and he had nothing to do with the car, it was just another coincidence. If that were the case, which you didn't know if you preferred, you'd have to start at square one all over again.

"Ugh," you groaned out to nothing in particular, easing yourself out of bed. "This is so fucking stupid." Thinking about your situation made you feel uneasy, you figured taking a shower and freshening up would give you some sort of relief. Not to mention how sticky you felt from the accumulated sweat on your skin. It wasn't even that hot, why were you so sweaty? You honestly couldn't remember.

With the prospect of a calming shower in mind, you dropped the subject, trudging along to the bathroom door.

* * *

**Song: This World Is Sick - IC3PEAK**

If your shift manager asked, you were sweeping. If anyone else asked, you were holding a broom while scrolling on your phone.

It was a slow Sunday, the Church moms and regulars already long gone past the sunset. Unexpectedly, not many more orders came in after the lunch rush. This gave you enough time to fold as many pizza boxes that would stack on top of each other and scrub the counters at least five times over. As of the moment, you'd already swept the entirety of the restaurant twice, opting instead to browse mindlessly through your apps while your manager was smoking in the bathroom. You were, for the most part, thankful for the times your managers got high on the job as it allowed you to have a break from busywork tasks once in a while, which wasn't often. The only problem was that you'd usually have to be the one to make the calls and deliveries since they were under the influence.

_Brrring!_

_Speak of the devil._ You huffed, pocketing your phone for the time being. You'd get back to those memes another time. Walking across the counter, you reached for the restaurant's front landline, readying an order ticket and pen with your free hand. You grabbed the telephone and held it up close to your ear, letting out a cheerful greeting.

"Riverside Pizza, how may I help you?"

"Is this (Y/N)?"

Your heart jumped to your throat at the mention of your name. How did they know? Who was this? _Am I in trouble? Am I going to die?_

You cleared your throat, trying to push away your panicked thoughts. "Yes," you spoke, throat closing up in fear from your irrational thinking. "Who is this?"

They spoke again, this time sounding a bit more familiar. "Hey, (Y/N), it's Toby! Remember me from y-yesterday?"

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, you leaned on the counter nearest to you in an attempt to gain your bearings. Until you remembered his relation to the car that followed you home last night. You noticed your hands were slightly sweaty and rubbed your free hand on your thigh while responding to Toby.

"Oh, yeah." You said through nervous laughter. "I remember you." _And your creepy stare…_ You added to yourself in your head. You weren't sure if you would've preferred some old guy harassing you on the phone over Toby but in a way it worked out. You were hopeful that you could ask him about the rusted car once you delivered the order. _What am I even gonna say?_

You heard him let out a chuckle in the background that seemed to go on for a beat too long. "I'm glad," you could practically hear the smile in his voice. "You remember our order, sweetie? 'Cause I'm about to order the same thing."

You rolled your eyes. "Sorry, I don't." Voice sickly sweet, you hoped he couldn't hear the distasteful tone hidden behind your sugar coated words. You didn't want to be rude to him just yet, you still weren't sure if he'd followed you home. So instead, you settled for uncomfortably friendly. "Would you please remind me, Toby?"

He didn't miss a beat. "Of course, (Y/N)," he answered with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Any-Anything for you." You heard him murmur, though it was loud enough that you knew he meant for you to hear it. _What the fuck?_

Toby recalled the order from yesterday and, to your annoyance, made you repeat every single thing he'd said just to be sure you got everything right. You preferred his friend Tim during phone calls. Afterwards, he stayed on the call for longer than he needed to, successfully making you an irritated, anxious mess. _Does this motherfucker not understand social etiquette or what?_

"Are you gonna be delivering to me tonight?" He asked with a smirk you couldn't see. You faltered, not expecting the question. The pause in your response definitely relayed the message to Toby, regrettably, as you were sure he took joy in rendering you speechless. You were beyond uneasy, not quite liking the turn the conversation seemed to take.

"Um… We'll see," you choked out. "Bye, Toby!" Without waiting for a response, you slammed the landline back into its holder, anxiety already gripping its way up your stomach. You were _not_ going to throw up at work again.

Taking a deep breath, you exhaled loudly while your hands gripped the counter you didn't know you were holding on to. You relaxed your neck and let your head fall, taking a few more breaths. You felt like you'd just ran a marathon, how were you supposed to ask Toby about the incident in person if this was how you reacted to just a phone call with the guy? You didn't even have a plan for what you'd ask him.

Feeling a bit bummed out, you thought about letting one of your coworkers handle the delivery. However, you stopped that train of thought. It had to be you to ask about the car. Nobody else knew and you wanted to keep it that way so as to not worry them. If it became serious you'd speak up, of course, but right now, you wanted to prove to yourself that you could do this.

After all, it's just Toby. You've talked to him before and you can do it again, it can't be that hard.

* * *

**Song: Up To No Good - The Hoosiers**

The drive to the lodge felt like it dragged on forever. With each turn into the dark forest, you felt a bit of your resolve chip away. The scenery was just as unsettling as you remember, this time without the moon in the night sky to somewhat light your way. It wouldn't have made much of a difference though, the tall trees would've blocked any stray rays of moonlight. Each tree looked identical to each other and you wondered, starting to spiral, if you'd be able to find your way back to civilization if you were pushed to flee. Is Toby fast? Would anyone hear you scream? _Am I going to die tonight?_

"You've arrived at your destination." The generated voice of the Google Maps navigator stopped your train of morbid thoughts. That's the second time you've thought about your death tonight. You sighed, staring at the gravelly road ahead of you, contemplating turning back now before you get killed. _Stop thinking about that,_ you scolded yourself. _I need to talk to Toby._

Before you drove any further, you started to plan how the conversation would go in your head—as any regular person does, right? It wasn't like there were any vehicles around you to honk at your delay.

"Hey, Toby," you whispered to yourself, rehearsing some improvised lines. "Do you drive that really, really beat up, old car? You know, the red Dodge that looks like it's lived through five world wars?"

You deepened your voice, playing the role of Toby. "Why, yes, I do drive that stupid fucking car! Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just wondering because I could've sworn I saw your car follow me home last night, isn't that weird?" You paused, not knowing what to say next. What would you say if he said it was him?

With a feeling of doubt, you turned to the side, eyeing the lodge. It was right where you remember it, you could almost hear the rattling of the rusted chains holding up the "Creekwood Lodge" sign. You reluctantly pulled into the entrance of the lodge, searching for the dreaded rusted car. However, there was no such car to be found. In fact, you couldn't see any sort of vehicle around at all. You paused, doing a double-take. _Where the fuck did it go?_

Parking haphazardly off to the side, you took a moment to process. _Okay, the stupid, ugly car isn't here. There are no cars. How did Toby get here?_ You pondered for a moment, confusion evident in your scrunched up face. Then, you remembered his words. There's someone with him, right? Tim? They probably drove him here, you guessed they left to go do whatever it is they do. You cursed, hitting your steering wheel lightly. You didn't have a plan anymore. Should you still ask about it? Groaning, you unlocked your car doors. You'd cross that bridge when you got to it. _Maybe I was imagining it all._

You exited your car, almost forgetting the pizzas in your haste. You wanted to get this over with as quick—and preferably painless—as possible. You opened the side door, grabbing hold of the bottom most pizza box. Balancing Toby's order in your arms, you shut the passenger side door with your hip and made your way to the front stairs, if you could even call them that. You hesitantly climbed the steps, cringing with every creak of the wood. The place was honestly more awful than you remember it. Not only that, but it seemed like the temperature dropped the closer you got to the lodge. Though, it could just be your nerves messing with you. Hopefully, Toby saw your car pull up and was waiting on the other side of the front door so you didn't have to stand outside too long. You paused at the idea, shivering. _Actually—nevermind. I hope one of his friends comes or something. How many people is he staying with, anyway?_

Unfortunately for you, the rickety door swung open just as you stopped in front of it, the action almost giving you a full-blown heart attack. You gasped, stepping backwards with one foot and almost dropping the entire order on the filthy porch floor. That was, until you were greeted with the same dark eyes and bandaged grin as the last time you were here.

"Hey, (Y/N)," Toby snickered, holding a gloved hand up to his mouth to falsely hide the act. "You okay there?"

You sighed in annoyance, clearing your throat to play off your frightened reaction. "Uh—yeah! I'm fine." Offering a tight smile, you straightened up and held out the warm boxes of pizza to him. "Here's your order."

Toby took the boxes with ease, holding them in one arm as he did the last time you saw him. You made it a point to not stare at his flexing muscles this time, not wanting to face the same embarrassment you had before. Instead, you took interest in whatever was behind the door. You squinted, trying to make out the entryway of the lodge. It was dark inside too, the only thing you could see was a counter, probably for the owner to stand behind, and a large sofa. _Wait,_ you faltered. _Is someone on the so—_

"H-Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you." Toby's low voice cut through your musings suddenly, averting your eyes from the doorway to his sharp, waiting gaze.

"What?" You questioned, thrown off guard. Your mind had to backtrack from what you thought you saw in the lodge to continuing Toby's conversation. You were still processing what he'd said to you. _Did he just say what I thought he said?_

Toby snorted, pausing to crack his neck. "I ask-asked if something was on your mind."

"Oh, sorry," you apologized, anxiety quietly creeping up from his slightly harsh tone. "Yeah." You swallowed, not sure whether you should mention the car or not. You wanted to, that was the original plan after all, but the rusted Dodge wasn't there, how would you be able to bring it up? _Fuck, fuck, fuck._

"Well?" Toby looked at you expectantly, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He was getting impatient.

In an act of panic, you did what you do best in these situations. Improvise.

"What are you doing all the way out here? Are you from the area?" You feigned interest, hoping he'd be satisfied. _Why do I even care if this bitch is happy?_

He was content it seemed, an obnoxiously cute smile making its way across his pale face. "Aw, you were thinking about me? H-How _sweet._ " You cringed. Bringing a twitching hand up to comb through his messy hair, he continued. "I'm here with my friends, actually. They're not here now but they're some cool guys. We're not from around here, just visit-visiting to do some sight-seeing. My friend Tim _really_ likes the birds from around here, though." He raised his thick eyebrows in a suggestive manner as if you were supposed to understand what the fuck he meant by that.

_Does his friend fuck birds or something?_ You grimaced at the last piece of information he unnecessarily added. "Oh, okay. Cool. Yeah, they're nice, I guess." You mumbled, turning your shoulders to the side slightly to signify you were about to leave. "So… Yeah, I was just—um, wondering. Sorry. I should go now though, gotta clean and stuff." 

Toby's smile dropped and he rolled his eyes in exaggeration, confusing you. Uh oh. "You said the same thing y-yesterday." He said in an exasperated manner, scowling. If you didn't know any better, you'd say he even looked offended. Maybe he was?

He stepped towards you suddenly, your heart rate skyrocketing from the action. Not knowing what to do, you froze, wide-eyed and unable to move. The lanky man looked a lot more menacing when he stared down at you so closely, dark, narrowed eyes burning holes into you through his messy locks. He leisurely bent over to reach your eye-level, now definitely invading your personal space. It felt like hot daggers piercing into you. His face was only a few inches from your own, holding your gaze as he spoke again. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

Finally breaking free from your blind panic, you stepped back. "What? No—Why?" You stammered hysterically, trying to find the right words in your flustered state. You felt a lot warmer than you had a few seconds ago. "Not-Not at all! Why would you..." You trailed off, interrupted by laughter.

"I'm just kidding with you, (Y/N)!" Toby giggled childishly, stepping back and adjusting the pizza boxes at his side. It was as if a switch was flipped inside him, no trace of his threatening aura left on his bandaged face. Of course, he was still staring at you. "You're fu-un to tease."

_That wasn't fucking funny._ You flushed in humiliation, breaking eye-contact to look at your dirtied work shoes. You didn't respond, not wanting to entertain him any further, and also because you were still coming down from your anxious high. Words were caught in your throat, you didn't know how to react. _Fuck this guy._

"Aw, I'm sorry, sweetheart," Fighting off a smirk, Toby tried to sound genuine. To your dismay, it just came out mocking. "I didn't mean to scare you _too_ bad."

You let out a deep breath, fighting away frustrated tears. _Why do I always cry at the worst times?_

"It's fine." You lied horribly, turning your head so Toby couldn't see your face. "I really need to get going now, though. Bye."

After the last word left your mouth, your legs moved on their own, quickly finding their way down the molded steps of the lodge. You rubbed your arms in comfort, wanting nothing more than to just go home.

"Hey, I really mean it!" You heard Toby's footsteps; he was following you. "I w-won't do it again, promise."

Catching up to you easily, he nudged your shoulder from behind. You huffed, stopping to turn and look at him through your teary lashes. To your surprise, he was holding out a gloved pinkie. You looked up at him, face scrunched in confusion. He raised his brows, looking down and gesturing to his outstretched hand.

"Pinkie promise? Ever heard of it?" Toby asked, slightly amused. _Here he goes again._

You almost ignored him, still upset from being messed with. Instead, you snorted, rubbing your eye absentmindedly. He just didn't know how to interact with people, you reasoned with yourself.

"Of course I have, stupid." The insult slipped through your teeth naturally. You almost regretted it but the more you talked to Toby, the more obnoxious he became. You felt your fear of him lessen, though it was still there, instead overshadowed by your annoyance. "What are you promising me?"

"Were you even listening?" He let out a dramatic sigh, dropping his hand slightly. Though, a second later, he thrust his entire hand in your face. You staggered back, barely avoiding a finger poking your eye. "Sorry, that was a tic." He snickered, not sounding sorry in the slightest. You glared, having a hard time believing him. "It was! Whatever—I'm pro-promising you that I won't scare you again. At least, not too bad."

You hesitated, staring blankly at Toby's twitching fingers. His pinkie was held out to you, expectant, and he wiggled it a bit for emphasis, a small _'cracking'_ noise coming from it after a sudden twitch. You didn't really want to touch him but if it meant he'd leave you alone, so be it. Sighing, you raised your finger, locking it with his leather-clad pinkie. You were sad to sad that you found his hand pleasantly warm. _Damn, this guy's got some big hands._

Toby offered you a supposedly comforting smile but to you it just looked malicious. In all honesty, everything the man did looked malicious. "You have small hands," he giggled.

"No," you retorted, "your hands are just gigantic. What are you, a frog?"

Pouting, he let go of your finger and dropped his hand to his side. "H-Hey, that's not nice." Following his action, you glanced at the pizza boxes he was still holding.

"Don't you wanna put those inside?" You pointed to the boxes, crossing your arms in an act to warm yourself. "They're probably cold already."

"Oh, shit," Toby cursed, re-adjusting the boxes under his arm. "Yeah, thanks. Wait here, don't go anywhere." He backtracked, regarding you carefully as if you were going to run off the second he turned around. Not that he was wrong, you contemplated the thought. He must've caught your indecisive look as his next words easily persuaded you to stay rooted to where you were.

"I'm gonna get my wallet. I still have-haven't paid y-yet, remember?"

"Oh…" You nearly facepalmed as you watched him disappear into the lodge. _How did I forget about the money?_ Sighing, you take in your surroundings. You were currently in the middle of the parking lot, only a few meters away from the steps of the lodge. Your car was even closer, you realized after turning slightly to face it. It was only a few feet away from you, positioned somewhat skewed to the side. You could've done a better parking job.

_Click!_

At the sound, you ceased all movement, pausing to listen closely. A faint noise could be heard coming from a bit behind your car, facing you. It sounded like it came from the forest, just beyond the dark oak trees. Heart dropping, you stood completely still. Did you imagine it? Was it a stick?

_Click_!

_Oh God,_ you sucked in as much air as you could, holding your breath as if that would save you from whatever is making the _'clicking'_ sound. _Is that a camera?_

"(Y/N)?"

You shrieked, closing your eyes and covering your face with your hands on instinct. You almost made a run for your car but the sound of a familiar mocking laughter stopped you in your tracks. Ripping your hands from your face you spun around to see none other than Toby clutching his stomach, essentially doubled-over in glee. You didn't hear him approach, not expecting him to retrieve his wallet so fast.

" _Toby,_ what the fuck!?" You exclaimed hotly, crossing your arms in anger. "You promised you wouldn't do that again!"

"I didn't mean to," he breathed through his chuckles, setting a hand on his knee. "I tho-thought you heard me come outside." He gulped loudly, exhaling in relief once he fought off his giggles. Straightening up to look at you in the eye, Toby met your smoldering gaze with a grin. "What were you doing, anywa-ay?"

You huffed, turning away from the man. "I thought I heard something."

"Yeah, that happens sometimes, especially when you're in the middle of a forest." Toby replied sarcastically.

"Shut up and give me my money." You twirled around and held your hand out to him, glaring at his foggy-white pupils. _Those spooky-ass cataracts._

Letting out a chortle, Toby reached in his back pocket of his jeans, pulling out three 20 dollar bills. He held them out to you, tapping his foot absentmindedly. "Kinda sounds like you're trying to rob me, sweetie. Wanna try and phrase that more nicely?"

You groaned, wishing he'd stop calling you pet names. "Nope. Also, don't call me that." You reached for the money, only for him to pull it back and over your head, just out of your reach.

Clicking his tongue at you, he taunted, "Try again, _sweetie._ "

"Uh…" _Oh no, not again._ You gulped, face warming up. _Bitch, get a hold of yourself!_ "No, thanks. Please give me the money."

Toby smirked, lowering the bills. "That's better."

You mentally slapped yourself. _How are you gonna say 'no, thanks,' and then proceed to do exactly what he asked for?_ Snatching the money from his gloved hand, you shot him a wry smile. "Yeah, whatever. Bye, Toby."

Whirling around, you march up to your car and shove the bills in your pocket. As you move to open your car door, you barely register Toby's reply of, "Buh-bye, sweetheart," followed by his faint footsteps slowly getting quieter and quieter.

_What an insufferable asshole._

* * *

**Song: Brand New City - Mitski**

You stepped into your car for what seems like the hundredth time this night. Right after you dropped off Toby's order, a sudden influx of around six online delivery orders came through at the exact same time. Apparently there was a glitch in the system and a few angry customers called for a refund, saying they'd ordered over an hour ago. Of course, they exaggerated, the longest delay was around 45 minutes long. However, you'd be upset too if your pizza was even ten minutes late. Though, you'd never say it; your anxiety wouldn't let you.

Closing the door beside you, you let out a deep breath. As you settled into your seat, you rested your chin on the steering wheel, closing your eyes for a good few seconds. The day was long and all you wanted to do was go home and crash onto your soft comforters. It was mostly Toby that drained your energy, mind you. The day went by slowly and the only eventful thing that happened was your conversation with the man at Creekwood Lodge—actually, scratch that, everything at Creekwood Lodge—and the delay of online delivery orders. Though, you'd pick speaking to angry customers that could make you cry over speaking to Toby any day. You'd feared for your life at Creekwood Lodge in the past two days more than you had the entire year.

_Speaking of,_ you looked around the parking lot, searching for a certain set of cars. _What if it wasn't even the same car from the lodge?_ You suddenly doubted yourself, thinking hard about what you saw that night. No, it had to be. It was the exact same car model and you were sure it looked identical to the one at the lodge. _But what if it wasn't?_

You groaned, starting up your car. _Just shut up and drive, (Y/N)._

As you pulled out of the parking space and into the main road, you thought about Toby. From what you've gathered, he has absolutely no social skills when talking to people, at least women, and probably got all of what he knows from television, video games, or what he sees in public. Maybe his supposed friends, too. You sighed, feeling a bit of pity for the guy. He acted a bit childish, going overboard in teasing you and laughing at your expense. Sure, it was embarrassing, but there's always a reason behind why people act the way they do. You just hoped he'd learn a thing or two about respect later on in life.

Recalling his behavior from earlier, you wondered what had happened for him to be so needy for your attention. He seemed to demand it while you were spacing out, looking inside the lodge. You stopped your thought process, instantly recalling what you'd seen inside the doorway. There was someone sitting on the sofa, you remembered. You couldn't tell if they were facing you or not, the dimly lit room not being any help. Toby said he was alone but you definitely saw somewhere there. Had he lied, or was that another guest at the lodge? If so, where was their car? You glanced at your rearview mirror while lost in thought, checking behind you carelessly. _Oh, fuck._

It was the rusted, red Dodge.

You let out a frustrated and partly terrified cry. At least you knew it probably wasn't Toby. Though, who else could it possibly be? His friend? You didn't want to stick around to find out.

Remembering your plan from yesterday, you veered left, rewarded with a few honks from your sudden turn. You paid them no mind, focusing instead on losing the car behind you. You were going to take the scenic route home tonight and see what they do. You looked at the mirror again and, to your horror, found the vehicle still tailing you. In fact, they looked even closer now.

"Well, shit," you breathed. Not losing hope, you turned your gaze back to the road, taking a few more sharp turns here and there to try and lose them. You knew your way around your small town well enough, which meant you could improvise a crazy way back to your apartment complex if you needed to. And right now, you definitely needed to. You didn't look behind you too much, not wanting to get into a car accident with overly reckless driving. Unfortunately, the times that you did look, the damn rusted Dodge was still behind you.

To your alarm, your apartment complex was rapidly approaching. You hadn't meant to arrive so soon, though it didn't matter, you realized. You got all of the evidence you needed. You were definitely being followed.

With that thought in mind, your brain started spiralling like it always did when you were afraid, thinking of the worst possible scenarios. _Why are they following me, what do they even want? Who are they? Am I going to get kidnapped and sold for my organs? What do I fucking do now?_

You accelerated a little over the speed limit in your panic, eyes glued to the road ahead of you. The turn to your apartment building couldn't come soon enough. As soon as the entrance was within turning distance, you swerved into the parking lot and screamed in your hysteria, just barely avoiding the oncoming traffic.

Heaving, you look behind you, immediately sighing in relief as you found that the car was nowhere to be seen. They didn't follow you into the parking lot.

You quickly found a spot to park in, pausing for a moment to take deep, staggered breaths. You thanked the world for breathing exercises, you'd needed them now more than ever. Though, you felt like you were becoming more and more used to being in a constant state of anxiety. Of course, you always have been, but you were a lot faster at gaining your bearings than you used to be. _I guess I have Toby to thank for that._

Whining, you let your head fall into your steering wheel, hands gripping it tighter than you realized. The hot question of the moment is: what are you supposed to do now?

* * *

You scrolled through your phone, exhaling softly through your nose when you came across a particularly funny video. Currently, you were laying on your bed underneath your blankets after getting ready for the night. Checking the time, you found it to be right around your bedtime. You were exhausted after the long day, finally ready for a good night's sleep.

Powering off your phone, you set it down on your stomach, staring off into space. You were tired obviously but you weren't sure if you could go to sleep just yet, too many thoughts jumbled up in your brain. Many things happened today and absolutely none of them were good. Toby's behavior, the mystery guest in the lodge, even the damn online delivery order glitch. And of course—how could you forget? The fucking Dodge. You didn't want to think about what you should do next, leaving it to the future you to deal with. _Sorry, future (Y/N)._

One last subject you wanted to touch on was the _'clicking'_ noise at Creekwood Lodge. It sounded awfully close to you and you were sure it wasn't a twig or animal, the noise was almost like that of a camera shutter.

You knew it wasn't Toby, it came from behind your car. Sighing, you clutched your device tightly, turning to the side to plug it into the charger that sat atop your bedside table. _Maybe I'm going crazy._

_Thud!_

You jumped in surprise, frantically whipping your gaze towards where the noise came from. The sound would've been barely noticeable had you still been absorbed in scrolling through social media. You still had your phone in your hand, screen black and just about to be put away. That was, until you heard the dull _'thud'_ coming from outside your window. You swiftly powered up your phone, turning your flashlight on without a second thought.

Your window was to the left of your centered bed, directly parallel to your bedroom door. Just a few minutes ago, you'd gotten up to open the blinds so you'd be greeted with—hopefully—sunshine the next morning. It was moderately large, taller than you and needed two curtains to fully cover it. Now, it wouldn't be as alarming to hear a noise from outside if you lived on, say, the second or third floor. However, you lived on the sixth floor. There were no trees around that were able to reach your story. If you heard something come from the other side, it was probably a bird slamming into your window, some kids throwing rocks, or a crazed stalker trying to get in. You weren't taking any chances. Shining the flashlight onto your window, you were greeted with a sight that could only be described as none other than heart-stopping.

There was a dark figure standing over your fire escape.

You screamed in terror, phone escaping your hand and bouncing off your bed onto the floor. The loud noise of your phone hitting the ground only made you panic further, sending you into a fight or flight response.

You sat up on your bed, heart racing faster than you'd ever felt. You had shut your eyes on instinct as soon as you saw it, not wanting to face whatever was outside your window. However, you knew you had to see where you were going if you were to make a run for it. Hesitantly, you pried your eyes open and took one last look at your window before planning to bolt through your bedroom door.

They were gone.

Your breath caught in your throat. You stared for a long while, studying the glass over and over again. It was still locked, you didn't hear it rattle, and after checking for the tenth time, you confirmed it hadn't been opened. They weren't inside. Still, you didn't want to settle down just yet, you were sure that you saw someone outside.

Carefully removing yourself from your covers, you stumbled over towards the window. You felt weak, like you were going to fall over from the slightest push. Your body felt hot, your legs were shaking, and you were scared beyond belief. Once reaching the window, you looked down on your fire escape, finding no trace of the figure that was just outside.

You gasped for air, feeling your sense of dread evaporate. Relief washed over you, your adrenaline high finally coming down. You held onto the wall nearest to you for support, holding yourself up. _Holy shit._

Scanning your fire escape, you wanted to be sure nothing was out of order before you could happily cry yourself to sleep. You still wondered, though, what made that sound? Your question was answered, sadly, and you frowned. Your eyes found a small object lying on the metal floor of your fire escape. Squinting, you tried to make out what it was but it was just too dark.

You exhaled in frustration, swiveling around in search of your phone. It was right beside your bed, lying face-down on the floor as the flashlight beamed from the camera. You wobbled over to it, gently picking it up from the ground. To your dismay, the screen was slightly cracked. Nothing too bad, you reasoned, though it still sucked.

You turned back to your window, making your way over to shine the flashlight down. What you'd seen calmed you down, yet filled you with a new sense of unease. This time, more grim than terrifying.

It was a small, dead bird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: alternative chapter title: toby is a fucking asshole


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